Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Amy’s too smart to fall for something like that,” I said.
“You got that right. She stopped her dad when he was barely into his spiel and lectured him on such an investment being far too risky and went to explain what he should invest in. He didn’t know how to respond to her, so naturally he praised her intelligence and claimed he would seek her wise advice on such business matters. I laughed when she informed him that her business smarts didn’t come cheap.”
I smiled, proud of her.
“Amy now admits I may be right about him being a gambler and needing money. I can’t wait for the guy to take a hike. Amy does not need the likes of him in her life.”
“On that we agree,” I said.
“I have a few photo shoots today, then I’m heading back to Amy’s place.”
“You two are quite the cozy couple,” I said, fishing for info on their relationship from his perspective.
“I like to think so.”
I heard a silent but so I said it aloud. “But?”
“I feel like there’s something holding Amy back from me. I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something wedged between us that I can’t seem to breach.” Desperation flared in his eyes when he asked, “Any suggestions?”
I couldn’t betray my best friend’s trust and tell him how she had lost her heart to my brother Thomas when she was young. At least, she thought she did. She was so young and vulnerable at the time and Thomas had consoled her on more than one occasion, so naturally he was her knight in shining armor. But it was for her to realize unless, she actually did love my brother. In that case, this might not end well for Beau.
I had only one suggestion for him. “Time. Give her time.”
“I thought the same, but how much time is the question,” he said, not looking at all happy. “I have to go and morph into a Viking. Catch you later.”
I felt bad for Beau, but his and Amy’s relationship was new, just as mine and Ian’s was. There was time yet for things to improve… or grow worse.
“Why the worry wrinkles?” Ian asked and gently ran his fingers on the spot between my eyes.
I expressed my last thought. “Time to improve or grow worse.”
“You need to preface with what came before that, Pep,” he said.
“You really are attuned to me.”
“We’re on the same wavelength, Pep,” he said with a playful wink.
“And glad I am that we are,” I said with a smile and was about to preface with what came before my strange remark when my cell rang. When I saw it was my dad, I answered it.
“Stan was mugged on the way to file the evidence. He’s in the hospital and the evidence is gone.”
22
I stood staring at Stan hooked up to tubes and a heart monitor. He looked like he was asleep.
“What happened?” I heard Ian ask my dad.
“From what we can determine so far, he was struck from behind, a hard blow that rendered him unconscious, as he was just getting out of his car. No one saw anything at the county building where CSU is located until one of the workers stepped outside for a smoke. She found Stan collapsed on the ground, blood pooled under his head.”
“The place must have cameras,” I said.
“It does but like most places there’s always a blind spot or two and unfortunately, Stan had parked in a blind spot,” my dad said. “The footage is being looked at to see who came and went around that time, but so far nothing out of the ordinary has been seen.”
“You don’t really believe this was a mugging, do you, Dad?” I asked.
“What makes you ask that, Pep?” my dad asked and from the look on his face I could tell he was waiting to hear me say what he suspected.
“The only reason someone would steal evidence is to prevent discovery of something,” I said. “No doubt Stan was robbed to make it look like a mugging.”
“That’s my daughter, thinking like her dad,” my dad said with pride. “Though, the would-be mugger made it an easy conclusion to reach since Stan’s watch, an expensive piece, wasn’t taken. Any good thief would have swept that up fast.”
“So that pin could provide evidence of some sort that would incriminate someone,” I said, and we all went silent for a moment.
My dad said what we all thought. “That means the murderer is still in Willow Lake and probably has been all these years.”
“But you only found the pin,” Ian said. “How would he have learned of it so fast?”
My dad shook his head, and I knew what he thought.
“He was in the woods watching,” I said.
My dad nodded. “Stan probably interrupted his digging, so no doubt he waited in the distance and watched us.”